Evolution
by BeccaBaby
Summary: The evolution of the lives of Dick and Babs, in the context of the team. Will be updated daily as part of the DickBabs execute week on Tumblr.
1. Beginnings

**Wow, this is my first fanfic in a really, REALLY long time, and it's my first YJ one, so I'm just getting back in the swing of things right now. **

**This is the first part of my piece for DickBabs Execute week. You should totally check it out on Tumblr if you haven't already!**

**The prompt for the first day/chapter was beginnings, so since this is YJ, I thought I'd right about Babs's beginning's with the team.**

**I know I don't own Young Justice, cuz if I did, I would never have gotten rid of fingerstripes.**

**Enjoy!**

**~~~BB~~~**

**Chapter One: Beginnings**

**~~~BB~~~**

"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE TWERP!"

Artemis and Bette didn't even turn around as a blob of red flew by following a much shorter and faster dash of black. Bette even held out her car keys so that the little black haired boy would have a place to hide. It was the last day of school and Artemis's last day as a junior. Bette had offered her a ride home, a much better option than taking the city bus to the much sketchier part of Gotham where she lived. Still, the neighborhood wasn't as bad as it used to be ever since Gotham's newest vigilante had appeared around Christmastime.

In the days between Christmas and New Year's, sightings began being called in of the Batman, except shorter, and ginger, and, well, with boobs. Like the Batman and Robin before her, no actual sightings of the crime-fighting Batman fangirl could be confirmed, and no pictures existed. Before Artemis had the chance to say anything to Batman or Robin, there weren't any more sightings. The archer simply assumed that the poor girl had bitten off more than she could chew whether it was in the form of a Gotham baddie or the Dark Knight himself. Either way, she was off the streets for months.

Then in late February/early March, she reappeared, but this time, she was not only better equipped and better trained, but was seen working with Batman and Robin. Artemis tried to approach Robin about it, but he just brushed her off with the usual "Batfam things, top secret and all that. If I say anything I'll have to sic the Batcow on you!" Artemis didn't really want to delve into the twisted mess that was the Boy Sicko's mind, so she just dropped it and began doing her own tracking of the newest cape in Gotham. That is, whenever she wasn't patrolling in Star City, or out with the team, or doing homework, or hanging with Wally, or seeing her other friends. She was lucky if she got in one night of detective work a month.

Tonight was not that night however, as the team had a bonding movie night following their weekly group training. She was heading to the mountain as soon as Bette dropped her off, but first it seemed like she had to deal with two of her best friends in school who also happened to be the two most oblivious people in school.

"Dick! If you don't give it back right now I'm gonna send that picture I found of you on Bruce's computer to _all_ of your friends."

Artemis and Bette walked into the parking lot to the sight of an angry Barbara Gordon, her face as red as her hair, glaring into Bette's passenger door window. What had previously been and elated Dick Grayson holding his best friend's backpack hostage had quickly turned into a scared ghost trapped behind the glass. Once the boy had processed what exactly his friend had threatened, the door practically flew open and the bag was shoved into the redhead's hands so hard she was pushed onto the ground with Dick landing on top of her.

Artemis and Bette started laughing as the awkward not-quite-a-couple tried to untangle themselves while blustering apologies and trying to keep their hands from getting too close to certain areas.

"I think Babs wants the D," Bette whispered to the other blonde causing the two girls to collapse on the ground in laughter. They refused to tell the two why they were in hysterics and instead made them wait until they were able to pic themselves off the ground and walk over to Bette's car.

"So, now that you two are done getting busy in the parking lot," Bette drawled as she reached her convertible, ignoring the cries of protest coming from her friends. "Are you coming over for my annual last day of school bash? This one here's blowing me off again."

"Again?" Babs asked, a calculating look on her face. "Gee, Artemis, school's over. What could you possibly be doing now that your _study group_ is over?" Babs gave a pointed look in Dick's direction who had suddenly found a very interesting rock on the ground that took over his interest.

"Well," Artemis drug out, looking suspiciously at the two, while furiously thinking of a decent excuse. Did they know something? "Umm, we're meeting one last time to, um, say bye and, um, compare grades and, um, stuff." By the time she finished her not very convincing lie, Babs looked triumphant and Dick looked like he was mentally face palming. Something was definitely up.

"I can't either, Bette," Dick said. "I'm heading out to catch up with the circus for a few days to see all the old faces and stuff, it's a belated birthday gift from Bruce, but I'm sure Babs would love to go." He put on his billionaire smile. Artemis was was thankful that Babs didn't have heat vision, because if she did, Dick was a goner if the glare the red head was giving was any indication.

"I can't actually. My dad got off work tonight, for once, so just me and him are hanging out to celebrate the start of summer," Babs said with a small, obviously fake, frown. Before Dick could correct her, she grabbed his arm and started heading to the car that had just pulled into the parking lot. "That's Alfred! I guess we'll see you guys soon!"

Babs waved at the two girls and drug a squirming Dick behind her as she greeted Alfred and climbed in the backseat. After they drove away, Bette climbed into her car and started putting the top down.

"I swear, it's like you're all living two lives, I never see any of you!"

Artemis paused as she swung her backpack in the backseat, the gears in her head starting to turn.

"Yea…" Artemis laughed awkwardly, jumping in next to Bette. "It's weird right?"

Too weird….

~~~BB~~~

"What the hell was that?" Dick asked when they got to the manor, stopping in the middle of the garage. Babs sidestepped him and continued walking on her way to Bruce's study.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Dick grabbed his bag and sprinted to catch up with her. "Could it be that you're going out with your team _again_ and I'm still stuck here in Gotham?"

"Babs," Dick sighed as they reached the grandfather clock. "There's nothing I can do about it. You know how Bruce is he –"

"He's being ridiculous and overprotective and needs to realize that he's got to introduce me to the rest of the crime fighting community eventually, especially the teen ones. I don't know how there aren't more reports of me outside of Gotham."

They had opened the clock and were walking down the hidden staircase to the cavern below. To say that the cave was astounding would be an understatement. From the giant penny and the T-rex, to the bat-computer and the training simulators, the room was the base of operations for one of the best superheroes in the world. Most people would have been struck speechless at the mere sight of it, however the two teenagers had become so used to it, they weren't phased in the slightest, not even when their mentor appeared out of nowhere behind them.

"That's because no one believes in the Batman and his partners." Bruce said, wearing a normal suit and walking with his two protégés to get changed into something a little more appropriate. "There's a reason that we don't let ourselves be seen, it adds to the mystery, and makes us seem more powerful than we really are."

At this both Dick and Babs shot disbelieving looks at each other. After all, this was the man who could singlehandedly take down the entire justice league if he deemed it necessary. Bruce decided to act as if he didn't see their exchange.

"However you are right." Dick and Babs both jumped in surprise. That's not exactly a phrase that comes out of the Batman's mouth very often. "It's important to build allies and be able of working in a larger team and on larger scale missions. You have one more test, and then you can be introduced to the team."

"Really?" Babs said, smiling one of her brightest smiles ever. Dick stood slack-jawed beside her. He couldn't believe Bruce was going so soft. Yea Babs was great, but was it too much to say that he didn't want to share her with the rest of his friends? Especially Wally. The speedster would never believe that Batgirl and Robin weren't dating. As if! That wouldn't happen in a million years. And Wally suggesting it would certainly make his recently broken relationship with Zatanna even worse.

"Yes," Bruce offered one of his sparse smiles as he reached for his cape and cowl. "You've come a long way since you started out on your own and I think you're ready for this. There's just one more thing you have to do."

"Anything," Babs said, holding her uniform pieces in her hand, ready to spring into action as soon as her mentor said the word.

"Find the Gotham Zeta Tube," Bruce smirked. "I'm sure Robin would be happy to help." The man nodded to the now enthusiastically grinning Dick and turned into one of the changing rooms.

"I'm screwed aren't I?" Babs frowned as she turned in the Boy Wonder's direction only to find him in his changing room already, cackling his maniacal laugh.

"Shit," Babs cursed as she darted for the third stall. "I'm so not feeling the aster."

~~~BB~~~

Barbara ended up making pretty good time and was able to get on all of her pieces only a few seconds after Robin had finished. After it was clear that she was the only person still in the cave, Babs ran into the garage section, grabbed her helmet and drove out on her brand new Batgirl bike.

Luckily, Barbara was a certifiable genius and was able to hack into the bat-computer's mainframe in order to get a lock on the location of Robin's bike. He appeared to be heading towards one of the nastier parts of Gotham. It made sense when you thought about it. After all, the Gotham crime fighting gang spent most of their after dark hours in that section of town.

Batgirl wove her bike in and out of traffic, following the signal on her wrist computer until she ended up in an alley, Robin's motorcycle abandoned at the end of the street. There were no signs of foul play, so Batgirl began settling into a fighting stance, her eyes searching the shadows on the rooftops, knowing that that was where the attack would come from.

With a quick cackle to give up his location at the last second, Robin launched himself towards her in a blur of red, black, and yellow. Barbara countered every one of Robin's kicks, punches, and acrobatic tricks perfectly as well as parrying with a few of her own. Just as she was about to land a nice, hard tap on the Boy Wonder's skull, he slipped out from under her and melted into the shadows like the bat that he was. Batgirl had thought she had mastered that technique, but apparently not.

"Now, how were you expecting to find out were the Zeta Tube is if you knocked me out?" Robin cackled once more as his voice got more distant, higher. Batgirl fired a grappling line to the roof and began to follow the disembodied voice. "That's more like it! Come on, let's play tag!"

They raced through the streets of Gotham in a way that only they could. Robin was capable of maintaining a significant lead, no matter how hard Batgirl tried to change it. The costumed heroine realized she was never going to catch him, but he wasn't the only cape in town who could give away the transporter's location.

Eventually, Robin noticed that Batgirl wasn't following him anymore and assumed that he had managed to lose her. He smiled, both a little happy and a little sad. As much as he wanted to keep his friend to himself, Dick knew how important joining the team was for Barbara and was sad that she would have to wait even longer.

Robin raced around the Gotham rooftops for about ten more minutes to make sure that Batgirl wasn't following him anymore. When he determined that the coast was clear, he made his way to the old abandoned phone booth and zetaed over to the cave.

As Robin exited the zeta tube and into the cave, ridiculous laughter echoed throughout the mountain and Robin was met with one of the most surprising scenes of his life.

Standing there, in the middle of the team, was Batgirl looking incredibly triumphant as Robin's friend stood around her, gasping for breaths in between bursts of laughter.

"Wh-what, h-how?" Robin sputtered trying to make sense of the situation. Babs walked towards Robin, smirking. "W-why is everyone laughing?"

"Batman said I had to find the Zeta tube, he didn't say I had to find it through you," Batgirl grinned, enjoying the confusion, shock, and astonishment on her friend's face. "I followed my new best friend who just happened to be in Gotham today visiting her cousin." Batgirl pointed over her shoulder towards Artemis with her thumb. Artemis noticed the exchange and nodded in their direction, enjoying the dumbstruck look on the Boy Wonder's face.

"As for the laughing," Batgirl smiled and brought Robin up to the computer screen where everyone was viewing a very nice picture of him in his original scaly underpants Robin costume. "Well, I promised I'd show everyone didn't I?" Batgirl's grin grew wider as Robin's grew more and more horrified and his face became the same color as her and a certain speedster's hair. As she was basking in his pain, said speedster ran up to her, kissed her on the cheek, and flashed her a wink.

"Welcome to the team, Babe."

And so it Began.

**~~~BB~~~**

**There ya go! It feels really good to write something again!**

**I'm going to be doing each part of the challenge as different chapters in this story, each on progressing Dick and Babs' relationship as well as advancing the team in the time skip. You guys should hopefully get a new chapter each day if everything goes according to plan!**

**Check me out on Tumblr if you guys want: Confesionsofamerryprocrastin ator**

**See everyone tomorrow with At the Gala!**

**Please review!**

**~Becca**


	2. At the Gala

~~~BB~~~

"All right guys, do you think you can handle this?"

"Hold on a sec!" Babs yelled as she put down her magazine on the coffee table in front of her.

"Wally, come in here!" Babs yelled into the kitchen, shifting to make room for her teammate on Dick's couch. "The Boy Drama queen is finally ready for his big entrance!"

Babs and Wally were currently in Dick's brand new apartment in Blüdhaven, possibly the only town worse than Gotham in the United States. It alsoz just so happened to be conveniently located right next door to the Dark Knight's stomping ground. The apartment was in one of the better parts of the 'haven, but that isn't saying much.

"Wouldn't want to miss this for the world," Wally said as he zoomed into the seat next to Babs, a box of cereal in his hand.

"I hope those aren't his cornflakes," Babs said, raising an eye at Wally's choice of snack.

"Babe, I know I can be pretty thick sometimes, but I'm not suicidal. They're Flashy O's," Wally flashed the laughing redhead with a wicked grin and a wink before settling into a more comfortable position to see the show from. Suddenly, he grew serious. "Besides, he needs all the comfort he can get from cereal. Raquel's gone."

"What!" Babs whispered exclaimed, leaning in towards the other half of Dick's best friend team. "He didn't tell me anything! When did this happen?"

"Last week," Wally stated grimly. "She just couldn't take his depression and distance anymore. Thank God she finally ended it though. I think that the break-up was the last push that drove him towards Superman for help. I'm afraid to think what would've happened if the Big Guy hadn't talked to him. I can't believe he didn't tell you."

"He hasn't told me anything lately," Babs said, shifting uncomfortably in her chair. "Since Batman banned him from the batcave after the Two-Face incident, he hasn't really been in Gotham a lot. Plus, since Bruce has no actual authority over me, he couldn't force me to quit, and I think Dick's kind of resented that. He's been keeping his distance lately, especially since he only shows up to school about twice a week, and when he's in class he just stares blank-faced at the teacher. This is the first time I've actually seen him in months. Bruce has been weird too. He's been talking to me less than normal, if that's even possible, and he's been locking me out of the cave for ridiculously long periods of time."

"Well, hopefully he'll explain everything to us now. After all, isn't this all about him getting back into the biz?" Wally said sympathetically, patting her hand before tossing another handful of cereal into his mouth. He chewed a bit before looking puzzled at Barbara. "You do know about Bruce and – "

"All right, Lady and Dude, May I present the fabulous prize behind Door Number One, the new, the improved, Nightwing!"

As soon as his introduction was finished, the bedroom door slammed open revealing Dick standing in the most provocative pose imaginable, in the most ridiculously flamboyant outfit known to man that would've made Elton John weep in envy.

Babs and Wally just stared at their friend, and than each other, and than their friend again before bursting out into hysterical laughter.

"Dude, Nightwing? More like Discowing."

"I guess it's true what they say, you can take the boy out of the circus – "

"But you can't take the circus out of the boy!" The two super teens finished together before collapsing on each other, gasping for breath. Dick just frowned at his two best friends.

"Well, you two just don't know fashion when you see it," Dick huffed, attempting a hair flip with what little hair he had.

"You know, it's a good thing we do know fashion, or you'd be back out there in your scaly underpants," Babs managed to gasp out as she began to regain her composure.

"Yea what's next, fingerstripes and a mullet?" Wally asked, reaching for more cereal now that he could breathe again.

"I think fingerstripes would be cool," Babs said, turning to Wally with a raised eyebrow and a frown.

"I mean yea, they'd be cool," Wally conceded, continuing to ignore the increasingly annoyed Dick. "But they wouldn't exactly give off the whole 'fear me' vibe –"

"I get it!" Dick burst throwing his hand up in the air and turning back into his bedroom. "I guess I'll just go with the much less creative and less fun _practical_ suit!" Babs and Wally high-fived each other on successfully fashion policing their style challenged friend.

"Oh shit!" Wally exclaimed as he checked his phone and realized the time. "You're gonna have to show us later dude. You two have that fancy dance you have to go to and enjoy, while I on the other hand get to act as security."

"Shit!" Babs said, jumping up and starting to gather her things together. She heard Dick cursing in his room as he scrambled to put a completely different type of suit on. "Dick! I'll see you at the party! We'll talk more there ok!" After hearing what she assumed to be a mumbled affirmation from her best friend, Babs turned to Wally. "Do you think you could give me a quick ride to my house?"

"It would be my pleasure," Wally said, turning around to offer his back to Babs, hearing more cursing from Dick's part as one of the greatest detectives in the world figured out what was happening in his living room. "Hop aboard!" Babs smirked and climbed on the speedster's back.

"Dick, I'll stop by tomorrow to pick my bike up. See you at the party!" Babs yelled, not looking back at the bedroom as she tightened her grip around Wally's neck.

"Wait! I need to tell you something about the part –" Dick rushed out in his boxers only to find that his friends had already left. "-y." Dick sighed dejectedly and returned to his room to finish his preparations. "Well, tonight's going to be fun."

**~~~BB~~~**

"Do you know what this party's about, Dad?" Barbara asked as she and Commissioner Gordon walked into the Wayne Manor for Bruce's latest Gala. "It was a rather last minute thing, and the security's really tight, tighter than normal at least." Barbara was referring to the additional security guards that nodded to her father as they walked through the front door and of course to the members of the team that she knew were in attendance at the party itself.

"Well, it's supposed to be a surprise," Gordon said as he took his daughter's arm in his and they continued on their way to the grand ballroom. "But honestly I'm surprised that Bruce has managed to keep it under wraps for this long."

They reached the first waiter, who just so happened to be a not-so-happy looking Wally, who offered both Barbara and her father a glass of champagne. Wally also offered Barbara a please-kill-me-now look. Barbara reached for a glass for her father, and ignored her friend's plea. She gave it to him as he continued.

"But the paperwork just went through and everything's official now, so he's throwing this shindig to make the big announcement," Gordon paused to take a sip of champagne as Barbara reached for a glass of her own, not noticing Wally's panicked expression as he overheard her father. "Bruce has adopted a new son!"

A loud crash rang through the hallway as Barbara missed the glass she was aiming for and managed to knock all the glasses on Wally's tray to the ground. Somehow they miraculously missed Barbara as they fell, but Wally was not so lucky.

"Shit!" Barbara muttered as she fumbled to help Wally clean up. And then of course, who should walk up to them at that exact moment but Dick Grayson himself.

"Had a little accident?" Dick asked, an eyeing the mess that she had made. Babs just stared at him, her face slowly growing redder and redder as she tried to contain her anger.

"How about a dance," Dick quickly inserted before Barbara could say something not appropriate for the present company. Barbara looked to use either her father or Wally as an excuse, but they had both managed to disappear at different points during the kerfuffle.

"Well, I guess I can't say no to that, now can I?" Barbara gritted her teeth and allowed herself to be brought onto the dance floor just as fox-trot began to play.

"Don't you think your outfit is a little suspicious, seeing as the team is working the security detail tonight?" Dick whispered as they began to dance. Barbara looked down at her elegant black dress with the small bat clips on the shoulder straps and frowned as Dick twirled her around, making her golden mantle billow out behind her.

"No more than you, Mr. Discowing," Barbara smiled as Dick gave a slight tug on his bright blue shirt and yellow tie.

"Ah, but the only people who have seen my insanely fashionable Nightwing costume are you and Wally," Dick smirked. "They don't even know my new alter-ego's name." This caused both of them to dance quietly for a while.

"I heard your dad tell you," Dick broke the silence, looking off into the distance. "About Jason."

"Is that his name?" Barbara whispered, looking at the ground. "What's he like?"

"He's reckless, and careless, and treats life like it's a game," Dick stated without any emotion. Barbara decided now was not the time to remind him that he used to be the same way. "Bruce found him trying to steal the tires off his work car in an alley. Only had one tire left by the time B got there."

"What?" Barbara was so surprised that she dropped Dick's hand for a second before continuing the dance. "When was this? How was I not informed about this? Does he know about me?"

"Relax," Dick said, still emotionless. "Bruce hasn't told him anything about anyone besides him and me. It happened about a month after I moved out. That's why Bruce hasn't talked to you a lot lately. He's been training Jason."

"Training?" Barbara blinked a few times, processing the word. "For what?"

"He's replacing me, Babs," Dick whispered, tears starting to form in his eyes as he looked at his father figure. "He's got a new Robin."

"Dick," Barbara said, forcing him to look at her. "Don't you ever think that. I'm not going to say that I have any idea what's going on in that head of his, but I do know one thing: he loves you. He realized that you needed to move on from Robin, not just because it wasn't safe anymore, but he didn't want the name to consume you like it did him. He wanted to break the cycle. He only ever did what he thought was best for you, just like he's still doing with you, and with Jason now. You both need different things. It was time for you to step out from B's shadow, leave the nest, and create a new identity, just like it's time for Jason to learn how to face his demons head on." The dance ended, stranding the pair in a sea of people waiting for Bruce to make his announcement.

"Bruce could never, and would never replace you, Dick, don't you ever forget that," Barbara whispered as said man began to climb the stage, searching the crowd for his first two protégés and any potential threats in the crowd. "And don't forget that I'm here for you to talk to. If the next time you and your girlfriend break up and it's Wally who tells me about it again, not only will he be dead, you'll have a batarang shoved so far up your ass you won't be able to sit for a month."

Dick laughed his first real laughter in months as he put an arm around his oldest friend and Bruce started talking into the microphone.

"Trust me," Dick smiled, giving Barbara a big kiss on the cheek and looking at her with new light. "If I break up with a girl again, I'm sure you'll be the first to know."

All in all, it was a good night at the gala.

~~~BB~~~

**Yay! Day two complete! **

**Thanks everyone for the follows and favorites and reviews, they really made my night!**

**I'll see everyone tomorrow with Chapter Three: Loss.**

**And yes, it is what you're thinking.**

**Please Review!**

**~ Becca **


	3. Loss

~~~BB~~~

"C'mon Jaybird! Can't you reach me?"

Babs heard Dick's taunting and looked up from were she was working on some old case files on the batcomputer. Dick was currently hanging upside down from one of the bars that Bruce had installed in the batcave soon after he had adopted the young boy. He was currently smiling down at his current target so many feet below him.

"That's not fair!" the little brother shouted from where his feet were firmly planted on the ground beneath him. "We said no gadgets!"

"He didn't use any gadgets, kid." Jason jumped as Babs suddenly appeared behind him, completely changed from the civies she had been wearing into something a little more appropriate for what she wanted to do. "There's a reason that his original name was Robin."

Babs smiled at the kid, trying to ease his nerves. It had been almost a year since the young hero had been introduced to the world, and he was holding his own against people who were older and better trained than he was. Still, he wasn't completely comfortable around other heroes yet, and he had a lot to learn. Babs understood his situation, even if Dick couldn't, and planned on doing everything in her power to help the young boy.

"Now what do you say you and me do some sparring while the Bird Wonder up there builds a nest, or whatever he's doing." Babs's smile grew bigger and her eyes had a slightly dangerous look appear in them as she heard her oldest friend curse at her in Romani from above. Jason, however, was not as amused.

"Now, I don't think that's such a good idea," Jason drawled as he starting walking away from Babs, a cocky grin appearing on his face. "I mean after all, you are a girl and that just wouldn't be –"

Jason was unable to finish his statement since he had been grabbed and thrown across the cave. He was caught so unaware, that he was unable to cushion his fall at all and landed on the ground hard. Before he was able to get himself back up, an unexpected weight suddenly appeared on top of him, twisting his arm behind his back, and shoving his face back into the floor.

"I'm sorry, what were you going to say," Babs said quite innocently from her vantage point on top of the young boy, giving his arm an extra twist. "It couldn't possibly be that you thought you were better than me because I'm a girl."

Deciding that the grunts of pain coming from the boy was justice enough, Babs decided to stand up and let Jason free, but not before making sure to her knee dug extra hard into the small of his back. Jason stayed on the ground, his face now red, rubbing his hand where Barbara had held him. Babs stepped back and looked up to the rafters where Dick was hanging from his knees smirking at his younger brother.

"Rule number one, little brother, never insult a woman's abilities because of her gender, especially is that woman is a superhero." Dick laughed his trademark cackle at Babs's approving grin and flipped down gracefully, landing on the cave floor below without a sound. "Plus, I think the only person who would have beat you up more than Babs here is Wonder Woman and Black Canary themselves, maybe Artemis."

"Nah, Artemis would've just shot him," Babs said thoughtfully. "I don't think she would've bothered actually hitting him."

"I do believe you're right," Dick smiled, giving his brother a hand to help him to his feet. "Did you learn your lesson, Jaybird?"

"Yes," Jason smirked, giving Babs a blinding and arrogant smile. "I've got to just keep at it and eventually I'll beat you and Dickiebird and even Bruce!"

"Sure kid," Babs smiled walking past him towards the Zeta transport, ruffling his hair on her way. "I'll call you later, Dick. I'm gonna hole myself up in the cave for the next week. Mal's got finals so I'm on cave monitor duty for a few days to give him a break. Figures that the team's got a shit ton of missions the only time he's gone right?"

"But wait! Aren't we gonna spar again?" Jason asked, his eyes big as he started towards Babs before she could leave. "I've never gotten to fight with you before and that was awesome!"

"Call me when you're a little better, kid. As you can see, I have some trouble holding back, why do you think we haven't sparred before?" Babs gave Jason a wink and a wave as the real reason as to why they had never fought hit him. "Besides, we'll have plenty of time to spar in the future."

If only that had been true.

~~~BB~~~

"Batgirl? Nightwing's calling, I think something might be wrong."

Barbara looked up from where she had been catching a nap in one of the empty rooms in the cave to see a worried M'gann standing at her door. Barbara quickly sat up and blinked the sleep from her eyes. It had been five days since she had left the cave except for mission business, and she had spent the last 48 hours working with Bumblebee, Rocket, and Superboy on a top secret, radio silence mission staking out LuthorCorp's newest plant in South America. They had just returned a few hours ago and Babs had opted to crash at the cave incase some crisis popped up instead of returning to Gotham. Apparently, Dick had not agreed with this decision.

"Did he say anything?" Barbara asked, reaching for a sweater to toss on. "This isn't like him."

"Not really," M'gann shook her head. "He just mentioned something about a Jaybird and the Joker."

Barbara's eyes grew wide with fear and she darted past the Martian, out of the room and into the cave's main control, knocking a sleepy Zatanna to the ground on her way.

"Nightwing? Hello Nightwing? Come in damn it!" Barbara pounded the keys, but the computer had already gone to black. She had taken too long. She was just about to call the black and blue hero back when the zeta tube called out his name and the worn hero stumbled through the transport.

"He's dead," Nightwing croaked when he saw her, collapsing on the ground as his oldest friend rushed to his aid. "The Joker finally did it, he killed Robin. He murdered Jaybird."

Barbara had to stop as what Dick had said began to register within her. She just stood there, staring at the fallen hero. Neither one of them noticed the crowd of other team members that had begun to grow around them.

"Th-that's not possible," Babs managed to get out when she regained the ability to speak. "B-b would have never –"

"B didn't get there in time," Dick whispered, the tears freely flowing from his eyes as he looked up at the red head. "He tried, he tried to save him, but he didn't make it. He made it just in time to see the explosion, to see –"

Dick began to break down even further, unable to continue his account of what had happened. Barbara slowly slid down to the ground next to him and wrapped her arms around Dick as he wept, her tears mixing with his as they held on to each other as if they would be lost too if they let go.

The rest of the team looked on sorrowfully. While they too had known Robin, they were not members of the Batfamily, they had never even known his real name. Their pain would never be equal to the pain of their two teammates. They kept a silent vigil over their friends until M'gann began an eerily haunting and beautiful Martian mourning ballad. Zatanna soon caught the tune and began to add her high soprano to the mix, Raquel's strong alto and Connor's booming bass adding more depth to the already beautiful song.

"It's going to be okay, Dick," Babs whispered as they sat and held each other. The redhead began stroking her old friend's hair as their tears continued flowing. "I promise we'll never let something like this happen again."

Dick just buried his face further into her shoulder in response.

~~~BB~~~

**Ack! Sorry this is a little late, life got in the way.**

**I'm not super happy with how this turned out, but I still enjoyed it, and I hope you did too!**

**Please review and let me know if I missed the mark!**

**I will see you tomorrow with the much happier Snowstorm!**

**~ Becca**


	4. Snowstorm

~~~BB~~~

"Dick, what exactly do you think you're doing?"

"It's a surprise!" Dick shouted, trotting backwards down the main hall of Gotham Academy and giving Babs a mischievous smile. "Just give me two minutes and I'll meet you right in front of the school!"

It was a few days before Christmas and Gotham Academy had just let out for Winter break. The majority of the students were heading to their second homes in the Swiss Alps, or Aspen, or St. Thomas, and, like Dick, had practically flown to their cars when the bell had rung. Babs shook her head as she continued to pack up her books. Even though it was winter break, it was also her senior year, and she was working hard to achieve Valedictorian status and get into every college she applied to, even with her extra curricular activities.

Barbara closed her locker and started making her way to the school entrance. This Christmas was going to be a hard one, and an interesting one. It was the first one since Jason had died, leaving an empty hole for the superhero community, and the batfamily in particular. Still, lately there had been more sparks than usual between Babs and her closest friend, and Barbara had a feeling that these sparks would come to a head in the very near future.

Barbara's musings were interrupted as she walked outside and something crunched beneath her feet. She looked down and smiled to see a layer of freshly fallen snow blanketing the ground. The roar of a motor and a familiar cackle brought her eyes back up.

"Well, what do you think?" Dick asked, taking off his helmet as he leaned against the handlebars of the snowmobile he was straddling. "Wanna take a ride?"

"How on Earth did you get that to school?" Babs questioned as she took the offered helmet from Dick and slid behind him on the machine. "How did you even know it was going to snow? The weatherman said it was supposed to be totally clear."

"I'm a Bat, Babs," Dick smirked, putting his own helmet on and turning the ignition on. "Bats know everything, shouldn't you have figured that out by now?"

Before Babs could respond, Dick floored the gas and set the machine in motion effectively cutting her off and forcing her to wrap her arms around his waste at the same time.

They zoomed through the twists and turns of the still unplowed Gotham streets, heading past the city limits in the general direction of Wayne Manor. Normally, they would either take the Zeta transport from there to either the cave or Dick's apartment to train, do homework, or just hang out, but apparently Dick had other plans for today. Instead of taking the left to reach the gates of the manor, Dick hung a right putting them in the middle of the empty grounds where fancy outdoor events were usually held. He put the snowmobile in park, turned it off and practically ran off the machine to the other side of the field.

"Dick," Babs called warily, nervous about the possibility of the former boy wonder and the unlimited ammunition around them. "What do you think you're doing?"

When no one answered her, Babs too dismounted and slowly crouched into a fighting stance where she was not only capable of defending herself, but was also able to begin forming her own arsenal.

Suddenly a giant burst of cold wetness hit Barbara in the center of her spine and she spun around to see Dick with his arm cocked, another snowball in his hand.

"Surprise," He grinned evilly, throwing the snowball at the center of her face. This time Babs was ready however and was able to avoid it.

"You know, it's times like this I actually miss that demonic cackle of yours," Babs said as she flipped out of the way of another attack. "At least I always knew where you were, even if it made me question your sanity even more."

"I think you're the only one," Dick smiled as he sidestepped her feeble throw and started making his way closer to her. "It just freaked everyone else out, and don't lie, no one knew where I was."

"I did," Babs smirked, dropping down and sliding underneath him in the wet snow, making sure to splash his legs with the slush as she escaped his attack. "I always know where you are, what you're going to do next." She jumped back to her feet, avoided the punch full of snow dick was driving towards her solar plexus and retaliated with a quick side kick and punch to the ribs. Before he could recover, she drove a handful of snow into his face, making him cough and sputter, leaving the perfect opportunity for Babs to take advantage of. She swept Dick's legs out from under him and landed on top of him in the snow. "I knew you were going to do that."

"Oh really," Dick smirked, shifting his weight and using his greater strength to roll over on top of her. Now Babs was the one with her back pressed into the cold snow, and Dick was the victor straddling her lower torso. "Did you know I was going to do this?"

Before Babs could respond, Dick leaned down and gave her a soft, hesitant kiss. When he began to slowly withdraw from the gentle kiss, Babs grabbed his head and forced their lips to meet once more, except this time it was a kiss full of passion and too many wasted years.

"Why, yes," Babs smiled from underneath him once their lips had finally parted. "Yes I did. It's a Bat thing, I thought you'd have learnt that by now." Babs's giggling was cut off as Dick stole another kiss. Not letting her new love take advantage of her, Babs smashed a handful of snow into his face, forcing him to let her up. While he was still stunned and laying on the ground in his daze, Babs darted over to the snowmobile and quickly hopped on and powered it up. "Still doesn't let you off the hook, Hunk Wonder. I'll see you at the cave."

Dick watched her zoom off on his snowmobile, thinking about the fifteen minute trek it would take for him to get back to the Manor, and of the girl had just kissed.

"Dear God, what have I gotten myself into?"

~~~BB~~~

**Grrr, it's late again, but it's here! And happy! And fluffy! Yay!**

**Please review guys! I'll see you tomorrow with Family!**

**~Becca**


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